# Jo Marie Payton
**Jo Marie Payton** (born 1950) is an American actress and singer best known for playing Harriette Winslow on the ABC sitcom *[Perfect Strangers](https://www.edgepedia.org/perfect-strangers-tv-series)* and its spin-off *Family Matters*, and for voicing the grandmother Suga Mama in Disney's *[The Proud Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-proud-family)* franchise[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton). She was born in [Albany, Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/albany-georgia)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton) and has also been credited as Jo Marie Payton-France, Jo Marie Payton-Noble, and JoMarie Payton[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53100/jo-marie-payton).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1950, Albany, Georgia, United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton) |
| Signature roles | Harriette Winslow on *Perfect Strangers* and *Family Matters*; the voice of Suga Mama in *The Proud Family* franchise[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton) |
| *Family Matters* | Played Harriette from the 1989 premiere through eight seasons; left midway through the ninth, with Judyann Elder playing the role for the last nine episodes[3](https://www.slashfilm.com/1832065/why-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow-actress-left-family-matters/) |
| *The Proud Family* | Voiced Suga Mama from 2001 to 2005 and in *Louder and Prouder* from 2022, credited for 32 episodes[4](https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/6195/files/Rae-Dissertation-2020-5-5-Final.pdf) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53100/jo-marie-payton) |
| Recent work | Cleo Dunkerson in Tyler Perry's *Miss Governor* (2025), a series about Mississippi's first Black lieutenant governor[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/1257891/) |
| Recognition | Four-time NAACP Image Award nominee; founder of the Frankie Payton Scholarship Fund at Albany State College[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/) |
| Also credited as | Jo Marie Payton-France, Jo Marie Payton-Noble, JoMarie Payton[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53100/jo-marie-payton) |
## Early career
Payton came to television through singing and comedy work. In a 2018 interview she described singing as the jazz singer Georgia Brown on [Redd Foxx](https://www.edgepedia.org/redd-foxx)'s variety show after *Sanford & Son*, and said that in 1977 she spent a full year on an ABC holding contract, paid weekly while the network looked for a project for her[7](https://perfectstrangersreviewed.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/interview-with-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow/). She also played a character called Big Mona on *The New Odd Couple*, the revival starring Ron Glass and [Demond Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/demond-wilson)[7](https://perfectstrangersreviewed.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/interview-with-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow/).
Her casting as Harriette came about, she said, after director Joel Zwick and another producer recommended her from *The New Odd Couple*; producers Tom Miller and Bob Boyett had staff pull the credits from the Paramount archives to learn her name[7](https://perfectstrangersreviewed.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/interview-with-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow/). At the time she was working as a sales administration manager for a wholesale touring company. She auditioned while recovering from a bad cold, was called back the next day to read for the full production team, and signed her contract that evening so she could be on set the following Wednesday[7](https://perfectstrangersreviewed.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/interview-with-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow/).
## Harriette Winslow
Payton first played Harriette Winslow as a recurring character on *Perfect Strangers* (ABC, 1987 to 1989), a sarcastic elevator operator at the newspaper office where the leads worked[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton). An encyclopedia of American television records that she attracted attention in that part, and that *Family Matters*, launched in 1989 as a spin-off, focused on her family: policeman Carl Winslow, played by [Reginald VelJohnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/reginald-veljohnson), and his sharp-tongued wife Harriette[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Encyclopedia-of-American-Television-Lackman-2003.pdf).
Co-creator Billy Bickley later said the spin-off's concept came after producer Thomas L. Miller saw VelJohnson in *Die Hard* and proposed building a show around him; because Payton was already on *Perfect Strangers*, the two characters were teamed up[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/die-hard-reason-family-matters-steve-urkel-exists-reggie-veljohnson). The series was a mainstay of ABC's TGIF lineup from 1989 to 1997[3](https://www.slashfilm.com/1832065/why-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow-actress-left-family-matters/). Its focus shifted toward [Jaleel White](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaleel-white)'s neighbor [Steve Urkel](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-urkel), and Rotten Tomatoes' career summary notes that Payton, whose character had originally spurred the spin-off, was somewhat shunted aside by her young co-star's success[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton).
## Leaving Family Matters
Payton played Harriette through eight seasons and into the ninth, the show's final season, which aired on CBS after the move from ABC; [Judyann Elder](https://www.edgepedia.org/judyann-elder) took over the role for the last nine episodes[3](https://www.slashfilm.com/1832065/why-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow-actress-left-family-matters/). Speaking to [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) in 2017, Payton said she had wanted to leave for about two years: "I was unhappy about a lot of things; I was going through a divorce, I wasn't happy on the show. It didn't mean I did not want to perform as an actress or an artist." She compared herself to a baker who wants to bake bread and pies rather than cakes and cookies[3](https://www.slashfilm.com/1832065/why-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow-actress-left-family-matters/). In another interview she said, "I had been offered an opportunity to do the Mahalia Jackson story and I wanted to do something else"[10](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/family-matters-jo-marie-payton-16891/). Her IMDb biography states that midway through the ninth season she was given the chance to end her contract as it expired so she could pursue other artistic endeavors[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/).
After leaving in December during her ninth year on the show, she told the Los Angeles Times in March 1998 that she was working on a jazz album, had recently quit smoking after twenty-seven years, and lived in Ladera Heights with her daughter Chantale, then fourteen[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-30-he-34133-story.html); she recorded a jazz CD in June 2000[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/).
In a 2022 [Entertainment Tonight](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-tonight) interview she described an on-set conflict with Jaleel White during production of the season 9 episode "Original Gangsta Dawg", in which White also played Steve's gangster cousin. She said she objected that a planned moment would not pass standards and practices, and that "there was one time he actually wanted to physically fight me"[12](https://www.etonline.com/family-matters-star-jomarie-payton-says-jaleel-white-once-threatened-to-fight-her-on-set-exclusive). In the same interview she criticized the producers' decision to fire Jaimee Foxworth, who played the youngest Winslow child, Judy, calling it "a bad decision" and saying, "They took my baby"[12](https://www.etonline.com/family-matters-star-jomarie-payton-says-jaleel-white-once-threatened-to-fight-her-on-set-exclusive).
## Suga Mama and The Proud Family
From 2001 to 2005 Payton voiced Suga Mama, Penny Proud's grandmother, in *The Proud Family*, the [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) animated series about a teenager growing up in Los Angeles with her multigenerational family[4](https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/6195/files/Rae-Dissertation-2020-5-5-Final.pdf). She reprised the role in *The Proud Family Movie* (2005)[13](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148461/filmography).
When Disney+ commissioned the revival *The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder*, Payton signed on at the end of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Production sent recording equipment to her Florida home, including a soundproof booth; "I did all the shows in my closet," she told theGrio[14](https://thegrio.com/2022/06/21/kyla-pratt-jo-marie-payton-and-paula-jai-parker-on-the-proud-family-louder-and-prouder/). She is credited for 32 episodes of the revival, which has run from 2022 into 2026[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53100/jo-marie-payton).
## Recent work and health
In 2025 Payton starred as Cleo Dunkerson in [Tyler Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyler-perry)'s *[Miss Governor](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-governor)*, a series about Mississippi's first Black lieutenant governor[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/1257891/). In April 2026 she posted a video revealing that she is gradually recovering from a serious illness that affected her mobility and speech, writing, "Two months ago, I couldn't walk. I couldn't talk at the start of this last year. But I'm walking better than I thought I would, talking better than I thought I would talk." She did not disclose specific medical details[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/1257891/).
## Personal life
Payton has been married four times, currently to Leonard Downs since December 16, 2007, and has one daughter, Chantale, born 1984[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/). Her IMDb biography describes her as a human rights activist and a four-time NAACP Image Award nominee who started the Frankie Payton Scholarship Fund at Albany State College in honor of her mother[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/).
## References
1. [Jo Marie Payton, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jomarie_payton)
2. [Jo Marie Payton, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/53100/jo-marie-payton)
3. [Why Harriette Winslow Actress Jo Marie Payton Left Family Matters, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/1832065/why-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow-actress-left-family-matters/)
4. [NORMALIZING TV: A Content Analysis Examining the Quality of Black Television, UGA dissertation](https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/6195/files/Rae-Dissertation-2020-5-5-Final.pdf)
5. ['Family Matters' Star Jo Marie Payton Reveals She's Recovering from Health Scare, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1257891/)
6. [Jo Marie Payton Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668534/bio/)
7. [Interview with Jo Marie Payton, Perfect Strangers Reviewed (2018)](https://perfectstrangersreviewed.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/interview-with-jo-marie-payton-harriette-winslow/)
8. [The Encyclopedia of American Television (Lackman, 2003)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Encyclopedias/Encyclopedia-of-American-Television-Lackman-2003.pdf)
9. [I Can't Believe Die Hard Is The Biggest Reason Family Matters' Steve Urkel Exists, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/die-hard-reason-family-matters-steve-urkel-exists-reggie-veljohnson)
10. [Family Matters: Why Did JoMarie Payton Leave the TV Show?, TVSeriesFinale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/family-matters-jo-marie-payton-16891/)
11. [Fitness, Not 'Family,' Matters, Los Angeles Times (March 30, 1998)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-30-he-34133-story.html)
12. ['Family Matters' Star JoMarie Payton Says Jaleel White Once Threatened to Fight Her on Set, Entertainment Tonight (2022)](https://www.etonline.com/family-matters-star-jomarie-payton-says-jaleel-white-once-threatened-to-fight-her-on-set-exclusive)
13. [Filmography: Jo Marie Payton, EL Cinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2148461/filmography)
14. [Kyla Pratt, Jo Marie Payton and Paula Jai Parker on 'The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder', theGrio (2022)](https://thegrio.com/2022/06/21/kyla-pratt-jo-marie-payton-and-paula-jai-parker-on-the-proud-family-louder-and-prouder/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames O to Pa*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license